For the past few weeks, State Sen. Jim Gaughran has been spending quality time on the Long Island Rail Road, riding to and from local stations, talking to constituents on the platforms and trains and …

Once upon a generation or so ago, there were people, mostly women, who specialized in guilt. Since I would feel too guilty singling out any age group or ethnicity, let me just say that some women were born to it.

I’m a big believer in bipartisanship. I come from an era when Democrats and Republicans worked together successfully on a variety of important issues. As a Democrat, I remember the Republican Party as the party of Lincoln, the party of Ronald Reagan . . .